The largest rocket system in space history is scheduled to take off from Earth for the first time on Thursday (from 3:30 p.m. CEST). Actually, the "Starship" of the private space company SpaceX from tech billionaire Elon Musk should have taken off for a first short test flight on Monday in Brownsville in the US state of Texas. However, this was postponed shortly before the scheduled start due to a problem with a valve.

The "Starship" rocket system - consisting of the approximately 70-meter-long "Super Heavy" booster and the approximately 50-meter-long upper stage, also called "Starship" - is intended to enable manned missions to the moon and Mars in the future. The "Starship" system is designed in such a way that the spaceship and rocket can be reused after returning to earth.